Foghat returns with rockin’ new album

After a long session in the studio while writing and recording their new album, the members of seminal 1970s blues-rockers Foghat were relaxing with a few adult beverages, chatting about life, music and enjoying a Florida sunset when the subject of one last song came to the fore – a song that would be emblematic of the new album and the band’s timeless, trend-defying sound.

Their manager came up with the title Under the Influence as the album title and concept two years previous, knowing that the phrase could have a number of connotations. When it came time to record a new album that’s when the band’s creativity kicked into gear and the idea of honouring their heritage was top of mind.

“The producer, [Grammy winner] Tom Hambridge and I were sitting on the back porch of the studio sipping on some bourbon, Maker’s Mark I believe it was. And I probably had a bit too much, and we were talking about the title track and what ‘Under the Influence’ would be about. The next morning Tom came in with all the lyrics. And I am reading them and here there are references to Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry, and everything that influenced us: cars, girls and rock and roll. So that’s really what the song and the whole album is about – the inspirational things that got us into music,” said Foghat co-founder and drummer Roger Earl, saying he enjoyed the opportunity to work with Hambridge, whose credits include Buddy Guy, ZZ Top, Lynyrd Skynyrd, BB King and the American Idol TV show.

“It was a fantastic experience. He is a beautiful man, really bright too. And he’s also a drummer which made it more fun for me. His ideas and his attitude and just the way he handles everybody in the band and the music we’re making, made it an absolute gas working with him. He made the process easy and a lot of fun. It’s hard enough in the studio because you’re trying to give it your best shot and to get it right. And I think most musicians are really self-critical. You always think you can do it better, and want to do one more take. I am of the opinion that once you get the song down and have the basic arrangement that you like, then it’s a question of your performance and how you play it. Tom was fantastic with all that.”

Under the Influence is Foghat’s 19th album, and first since Last Train Home which came out in 2010. For the first time, the band chose to fund the album through PledgeMusic, like an indie band, with Earl praising the method not only as an efficient and easily accountable way of raising funds to create the album, but also a way to connect with their fans.

“It wasn’t so much that we were asking people for money, we were asking people to pre-order the record, which helps us decide how many we’re going to print and gives you a handle on what to expect cost-wise. And our fans have been fantastic over the years. We always have a bunch of fans that travel from show to show wherever we are playing. And it was a way to reward them, so we were giving away things like my drumsticks and used drum heads,” he said, adding that he and his fellow band members have been making an extra effort in recent years to get up close and personal with Foghat fans.

“For the last 15 years or so we always go out after the show and sign whatever they bring along: albums, t-shirts or whatever, and we just hang out. These people are our lifeblood. They really love the music and love the band. I enjoy that interaction as does everyone in the band because you get to meet these die-hards. How can it be a bad thing to have all these people smiling at you and treating you like you’re something special night after night when you’re up on that stage? So we want to treat them like they’re special – because they are.”

Forty-five years into its history, Foghat is still an in-demand live act, performing between 50 and 60 shows a year, primarily in North America, but with the occasional jaunt to more far-clung locales. Earl said there is an invigoratingly wide mix of ages at a typical Foghat show, something for which he and his other bandmates – Bryan Bassett (lead guitarist since 1999), vocalist Charlie Huhn (joined 2000) and long-time bassist Craig MacGregor (1976-1982, 1984-1987, 1991, 2005-present) – are truly appreciative.

“I think it started with Guitar Hero or one of those video games, and there were also a couple of car-oriented video games with Slow Ride on it and that brought in a whole bunch of new folks. Our crowds really are very mixed. We will get everything from 15 and 16 year olds, up to people in their 50s and 60s and lots in between. And I think a lot of those young people are also getting it from parents and older brothers and sisters. I hear that a lot,” Earl said.

He is also heartened by the seeming resurgence of vinyl as the listening medium of choice for both old and younger music fans.

“With vinyl, I think you feel like you’re getting your money’s worth. You get this big beautiful piece of vinyl and you’ve got this great artwork and all the liner notes on the sleeve. That’s one reason why we spend so much time with the packaging because it tells a story. There’s a story to the album and its creation and that’s important. It gives the project value. I always thought it was important when I was growing up to read the liner notes on an album. I would sit there with it in my hands while the music was playing and read the lyrics and who played what and who wrote it. I think you need to create something that people will want to hold onto and treasure,” Earl said.

Many of the newer and more youthful fans of the band were introduced to Foghat through their most celebrated, memorable and riff-crunching hit, Slow Ride, which is a staple of practically every 1970s rock ‘best of’ collection since being released in 1975 on the Fool For the City album. Like many of their other songs, Slow Ride came out of a jam.

“That song has been very, very good to me. Nick Jameson had just joined the band after Tony Stevens got fired – he was always getting fired for some reason, but that’s another story. Nick and I had been friends for a long time and he engineered and produced a couple of albums for us. At the time I was living up in Woodstock, New York and so was Nick because he was the house engineer for Bearsville Records,” Earl explained.

“I told him I wanted him to play bass with the band. So I brought him to Long Island where [former lead guitarist] Rod Price and I had a place and we soundproofed the basement and just jammed with Nick and also [former singer] Dave Peverett to see if things would click. And the first song to come out of that time was Slow Ride. The whole arrangement and everything we put together on that song came from a jam. Nick wrote all the middle parts and obviously the bass line, but we had the music for the song done and then Dave chimed in and said he had some words. So there you go, that’s how Slow Ride came together.

For Under the Influence, the band’s current lineup re-recorded a special 40th anniversary version of Slow Ride with a special appearance by Jameson, who played on the original version of the Fool for the City and toured with Foghat for a couple of years in both the 1970s and 1980s.

Under the Influence really refers to all the various musicians and bands that inspired the members of Foghat – and particularly Earl – over the years. Earl and original long-time vocalist ‘Lonesome’ Dave Peverett and bassist Tony Stevens created Foghat after leaving another popular blues-based British band, Savoy Brown. The band was joined by axe slinger Rod Price in time to start recording the self-titled debut album, released in 1972. Price left the band in 1991, rejoining in 1993 for another six years. He died in 2005. Peverett left in 1984, and returned in 1993 and stayed until he passed away in 2000.

Earl, who has lived in the USA since 1973 spoke of his early rock and blues influences and how they continue to inspire the music he writes and performs to this day as the lone member of Foghat to survive every incarnation of the group.

“The reason I got into this in the first place was because I love music. I love playing music and I have been a music fan ever since I can remember. There was always music in our house: my father played piano and we had a record player, so music was always happening. My grandfather on my father’s side lived in the east end of London and whenever we used to go to their house there was always music played, or as we used to say, there was always a sing song and everybody would be singing,” he said.

“So I grew up with music. My father was the one who took me to see Jerry Lee Lewis when I was about 13 years old. Because my dad played piano, he was fascinated by Jerry Lee and I remember him bringing home Great Balls of Fire and playing it on the record player. I would walk home from school for lunch and dad would sometimes come home from work as a panel fitter at the Aston Martin Factory, and this one day he put the record on and said, ‘have a listen to this boy, son. He can really play that piano.’

“My older brother Colin also influenced me. He became a big music fan too and there was always music coming from his radio, like Little Richard and Johnny Cash, who was one of my favourites. I am still a huge Johnny Cash fan to this day. I would be riding my bike to school singing Johnny Cash songs. I’ve still got all his records and used to watch his TV shows, and I even went to his museum. He was the best.”

Foghat was arguably one of the busiest, most prolific and hardest working bands of the 1970s, releasing 13 albums over a 10-year period from 1972 to 1982 before splintering in the 1980s, when lineup changes were frequent, but recording far less frequent. Earl said that some in the band loved the torrid pace of the 1970s, but others couldn’t handle it.

“It’s a case of wanting to be a famous rock star but you have to be careful what you wish for because, yeah, we were pretty busy. Back then it was different, though. It was just the way it was for all bands. The only one who had a real problem with the pace of things at the time was Rod Price. He had a really hard time touring. Myself and Lonesome Dave loved being on the road. We just loved to play, no matter what, where or how. It was always a joyous occasion. But Rod always had a hard time of it,” he said, adding that for the creative process, Peverett struggled more.

“Dave found it difficult to write from time to time for whatever reason. Road also couldn’t come up with material sometimes. I think in general it was difficult to come up with new songs under that kind of pressure. So nowadays we try to do a record every three or four years which is a more leisurely pace. But I have always loved touring. It’s in my blood.”

And that blood will be coursing through Earl as Foghat hits the road for a slate of dates throughout the United States over the summer. Earl said the band has recently landed distribution deals in Europe and Japan, so hopes to take the Foghat touring machine to those locales at some point in the near future.  For more information on Foghat and Under the Influence, visit www.foghat.net or the band’s page on Facebook.

* Jim Barber is a veteran award-winning journalist and author based in Napanee, ON, who has been writing about music and musicians for a quarter of a century. Besides his journalistic endeavours, he now works as a communications and marketing specialist. Contact him at jimbarberwritingservices@gmail.com.

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